Sunday, January 16, 2000
NKU 92, Missouri-St. Louis 63
Norse shoots 65 percent in second half
BY MARK SCHMETZER
Enquirer contributor
The Northern Kentucky University men's basketball team turned its defense up a notch in the second-half, and that translated into a 92-63 romp over Missouri-St. Louis Saturday in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game at Regents Hall.
NKU led just 39-37, at halftime. UMSL shot 65.2 percent from the field in the first half, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range.
“We were playing hard, but we weren't finishing the possession, either by not getting the rebound or not getting a hand in their face,” senior guard Kevin Listerman said. “We just said in the locker room that we needed to take that one more step. We played hard in the first half, but we played a lot harder in the second half. They only scored 24 points in the second half. Anytime you hold a team to 24 points in a half, you should win the ballgame.”
Listerman scored just two points, but he handed out a season-high eight assists and tied Adam Norwell for the team lead with five rebounds. He also had four steals.
“I'd say that was vintage Kevin Listerman,” he said. “I feel that was my best floor game of the year. That's my game — getting a couple of rebounds, getting the ball to the guys who can score, and being a pest on defense.”
While NKU was holding UMSL (7-5, 3-4) to a 25.8 percentage in the second half, it was hitting 72 percent (18-of-25) and scoring 53 points, led by Craig Conley's 14. The junior guard led both teams with 20 points and keyed a Norse bench effort that resulted in 44 points.
“I'd say that was our best second half of the season, if not our best half,” NKU coach Ken Shields said. “We were concerned at halftime. We weren't stopping them. It took a heck of an offensive half by us to be just two up. The bench scoring 44 points was instrumental. (UMSL) really didn't get into a rhythm in the second half.”
Brian Lawhon, who finished with 19 points, hit his first three 3-point shots and four of five in the first half. The Norse hit 13 of 21 3-pointers in the game, the last two by senior Mitch Perdrix, his first of the season.
NKU (13-2, 5-1) won for the fifth straight time this season and improved to 7-0 at home. The Norse extended their Regents Hall winning streak to nine games, dating back to last season.
UMSL (61) — Johnson 3-5 2-4 8, Schelich 3-12 1-2 9, Herbert 3-5 2-3 8, Love 2-5 0-0 5, Markus 6-11 0-0 13, Coleman 3-4 0-0 8, Ross 1-5 2-2 5, Massa 2-6 0-0 5, Harms 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 23-54 7-11 61
NORTHERN KENTUCKY (62) — Sanders 1-3 0-0 2, Brewster 5-7 3-5 13, Norwell 3-3 6-7 12, Lawhon 6-9 2-2 19, Listerman 0-1 2-2 2, Conley 7-13 3-4 20, Perdrix 2-3 0-0 6, Schaefer 0-0 0-0 0, Stowers 0-2 0-0 0, Murphy 1-2 0-0 2, Rupe 0-0 0-0 0, Marston 4-5 0-0 11, Wieber 2-3 1-1 5. Totals: 31-51 17-21 9292.
Halftime Score: NKU 39, UMSL 37. 3-pointers: UMSL 8-24 (Schelich 2-9, Love 1-4, Markus 1-2, Coleman 2-2, Ross 1-2, Massa 1-5). NKU 13-21 (Sanders 0-1, Lawhon 5-7, Conley 3-5, Perdrix 2-3, Murphy 0-1, Marston 3-4). Fouled out—none. Rebounds—UMSL 29 (Herbert 10), NKU 26 (Norwell, Listerman 5). Assists—UMSL 10 (Ross 3), NKU 14 (Listerman 8). Total fouls—UMSL 29, NKU 26. A—1,216.
Women: NKU 89, UMSL 68
Northern Kentucky's balanced scoring overcame the 25-point effort by Tawanda Daniel of Missouri-St. Louis (7-5, 5-2 Great Lakes Valley Conference). Michele Tuchfarber's 21 points led four NKU players in double figures. Michelle Cot trell scored 18 points and Julie Cowens and Heather Livingstone scored 12 each for the Norse (10-2, 5-1 GLVC).
NKU No.11 in the NCAA Division II poll, shot 62.1 percent from the field in the first half.
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